Geology

REASONS TO STUDY THIS COURSE

Combines well with the classic science subjects, Maths or Core Maths and Geography.

Allows you to understand the processes that have created the present pattern of continents and oceans and the formation of economic deposits of metals and energy resources.

Helps you understand natural geological hazards, as well as those caused by human activity and the means of predicting and controlling them.

WHAT YOU WILL STUDY

The Earth’s evolution and sustainable development, uniformitarianism, geological time, the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere and biosphere and more. You will take part in at least two fieldwork days and a broad range of practical activities, which will help prepare you for university courses.

HOW YOU WILL BE ASSESSED

Three exams.
A practical endorsement certificate is awarded by the tutor following 20 lab practicals. These practicals are designed and monitored by the exam board.
The certificate and fieldwork activities do not contribute directly to the final mark, but are a compulsory element of the course.

PROGRESSION

Many students have gone on to study Geology at university. Possible careers include environmental management, travelling the world working with natural resources, civil engineering, natural and artificial hazard management and academic research. Geology is a science course and will also help you obtain a place on all science-related degree courses. It is also possible to obtain an apprenticeship with organisations like the Environment Agency or Centrica.

What You'll Need

• average GCSE grade of 4 or above, including a minimum grade 4 in a science
• a good GCSE grade (4 or above) in English and ICT is also beneficial
• ability to learn and recall factual information is essential
• we encourage students to combine Geology with Core Maths or Maths, as this will support the increasingly mathematically centred work undertaken in Geology

Priestley Extra

Residential visits to geologically active regions are organised every other year, usually to Sicily or Iceland. In all cases, we would be visiting active volcanoes and many other examples of the natural power of planet earth. Additionally, a mandatory residential field trip to the Isle of Arran
will run after the AS exams at the end of Year 1. This is a great opportunity to put into practice the theories learned during the course. It will be led by a team of field geologists who are experts in the local geology of one of the most important sites on the entire planet.